New Mac Mini and TrueHD audio

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Level 4

2,558 points

New Mac Mini and TrueHD audio

Has any one know if it's possible to play back uncompressed audio streams from .m2ts streams thru the HDMI connector, or are the Dolby Digital and/or DTS the only streams that can play back thru HDMI?

Dual 2.26 MacPro, and 15" MBP, iPhone 4, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Aug 7, 2010 11:25 AM

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Answer 1

Bill Scott

Level 6

11,459 points

Aug 10, 2010 9:32 AM in response to Jeffrey Lee

You can play bit-perfect audio via optical toslink, USB, or HDMI out from iTunes, but I don't know what the situation is with a player that handles .m2ts streams. Does your player use CoreAudio? If so, it should be possible to turn off all digital signal processing.

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Answer 2

Jeffrey Lee Author

Level 4

2,558 points

Aug 10, 2010 11:28 AM in response to Bill Scott

Actually I'm trying to play back HD .mt2s streams via VLC. BluRay players support uncompressed audio, but only when output from the HDMI connection.

I've been able to get the encoded AC3 streams out of VLC to my receiver for decoding, but don't have a Mac Mini to see if uncompressed mulit channel audio out via HDMI is supported.

Message was edited by: Jeffrey Lee

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Answer 3

sfatula

Level 2

158 points

Aug 10, 2010 2:12 PM in response to Jeffrey Lee

TrueHD will not work via HDMI.

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Answer 4

Jeffrey Lee Author

Level 4

2,558 points

Aug 11, 2010 6:54 PM in response to sfatula

Not to disagree with you, but would it be safe to say that TruHD Audio doesn't work thru HDMI as of NOW? and it may work at some time in the future?

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Answer 5

Aug 12, 2010 6:45 AM in response to Jeffrey Lee

Apple have only said Dolby DTS works, and PCM works. They have not mentioned TrueHD. However others have said that currently the chips used in the Mac mini do not support sending True HD via the HDMI, even though the HDMI specification obviously allows this.

The conclusion is that we would have to wait for another newer Mac mini model with a better set of chips.

I have seen less to nothing about the possibility of running TrueHD via the Mini Displayport and then an adapter to HDMI. It is the case that the Mini Displayport supports audio on the 2010 Mac mini but it is likely the same chip issue prevents True HD.

This is all very disappointing of course.

For the moment, I am sticking with an Apple TV running XBMC which is far cheaper but still does not support TrueHD.

PS. If the rumours are that the next Apple TV only does 720p are true, then Microsoft will (rightly) be laughing at Apple's feeble efforts.

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Answer 6

capaho

Level 4

3,673 points

Aug 12, 2010 8:11 AM in response to John Lockwood

Mac mini do not support sending True HD via the HDMI

How much True HD content is out there? If you're streaming from the Internet, I doubt there is much.

PS. If the rumours are that the next Apple TV only does 720p are true, then Microsoft will (rightly) be laughing at Apple's feeble efforts.

That's probably because it will reportedly be a streaming device for iTunes files, which max out at 720p. Other than IPTV, I have yet to see a streaming service that streams 1080p video, so I don't think 720p will be a problem on the next ATV. I have also yet to see a Microsoft media player that works as well as anything Apple makes, so Microsoft can laugh away.

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Answer 7

Dah•veed

Level 9

64,645 points

Aug 12, 2010 10:22 AM in response to John Lockwood

PS. If the rumours are that the next Apple TV only does 720p are true, then Microsoft will (rightly) be laughing at Apple's feeble efforts.

Do not forget that Steve Jobs has repeated on numerous occasions that TV, perhaps soon iTV, is only a hobby for Apple. It has never been a serious product with a fully staffed and dedicated project team.

Dah•veed

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